Summertime in Eureka

The grey clouds and slight chill have gone; there is summer here in Eureka, which is gloriously beautiful. The temperature hovers at about 70 degrees and we have sunshine galore. We have California dandelions as our lawn. They have a different leaf shape than the ones in VA–I first thought I had a yard full of thistles. But then they began to produce flowers…the standard bright yellow dandelions I’m used to–except that each flower grows on a single tall stalk. We have trees around the yard, so our dandelions are about 18 inches tall. And they track the sun, closing up at night.So we have this pretty array of flowers, even if they are weeds. I am a little concerned about snakes, which live in similar conditions. Hopefully the landlord will come and cut the lawn before very long. Or I’ll have to see if we can let Cooper, the horse I told you about in the last blog, graze and take some of this down. It’s not a new idea–the baseball diamond near the house shares space with the CA National Guard’s armory and they have 2 sheep and a goat that graze their way around them. Only in Eureka.

Speaking of which, I was at the nail salon getting my nails done (duh) and they had HGTV on, with some show about people wanting beach houses but having a small budget (like $350,000 budget; amazing what some people consider “small” and why on this green Earth they would describe themselves as “bargain hunters”). I wasn’t paying a lot of attention until I caught the “bargain hunter” looking at the fence on the property; it wasn’t a solid thing and she made some comment about having to change it. The realtor said, “It’s Eureka, nobody cares.” That sums up the people pretty well…do what you want (within legal limits, of course), wear what you want, be who you want…and nobody cares that you’re different. And trust me, around here? It’s damned hard to tell who is “different” when there is so much personal expression.

On a side note, they were looking at the house and it must have been summer, like today. Bright and clear, the “bargain hunter” kept talking about how open everything was, how the windows and sliding glass doors “let the outside in” and what beautiful views of the water there were. I was highly amused and wondered if the realtor explained to her about fog, rain, and chill. Probably not, since she wanted to sell the house.

I am not quite as sunk in a funk as the last time I blogged. My referral for acupuncture came through and I have a new man in my life. He’s wonderful. He pokes me and I feel better. And of course I am referring to my acupuncturist. It’s amazing what having 35-50 needles stuck in you will do. It helps but as my Beloved says, it’s still a very thin layer on top of the pains so I have to be very aware not to overdo, since it would be so terribly easy to push beyond the limits I know. I also enjoy the fact that he points an infrared lamp at the soles of my feet to help keep me warm, as I lay face down on table–and another at the “especially painful” area, usually my neck. He also has something he refers to as “Chinese Ben Gay”. It looks like shellac or lacquer in a jar, and he applies it with a paint brush. It smells…well, Chinese…but I like the smell and it works very well indeed. I have purchased a smaller bottle of it to have at home–even share with Beloved, who has his own share of aches.

We must have caught up on our doctor visits, as we haven’t had many appointments in the past several weeks. We have added a new weekly event–we are playing a Dungeons and Dragons sort of game, called Pathfinder. My character is a cat who has been Uplifted–made as intelligent and capable as humans. His chosen class is a Hunter, which gives him an animal companion. Mine is a wolf. Beloved’s character was most foully murdered in her bed and he’s having to figure out the replacement. Yes, my character is a male and Beloved’s is a female; I guess that makes us cross-sex players.

(Mentioning sex players reminded me–there is a place up in Arcata called “Pleasure Time” and it is for adults only. I wish we were up to finding out what that’s all about. <grin>)

Anyway, we go to the Dungeon/Game Master’s house every Tuesday night and play make believe with dice. It’s social, we’ve met 4 new people and it’s an activity that we can partake without too much toll made on us. One of our players is VERY pregnant–like, she might not be there this week, but almost definitely not next week. Dunno what that will do to the game if she has to drop playing. You know, that whole newborn baby thing.

We haven’t done much in the month since you and I last spoke. We both have new CPAP/BiPAP machines, woo hoo! I’ve been watching movies on Netflix and finally saw “Lost Boys”. I’m still playing a lot of flash games–match three’s, bubble shooters, sims…something that doesn’t require a lot of attention and can be played or left alone. I’ve also been spending a lot of time on the Pathfinder stuff–had to write a back story for my cat, have to keep track of all the various points I have (or could have) and make sure they correct for the new level the adventuring party has reached.

So nothing extraordinary, either good or bad. Quiet days, some better than others. Going out when we have an appointment or need food. We’re still working on that trip to Costco. We’ll have to eventually because that’s where we get our toilet paper…so when we run out…
Just touching base with you, mostly. Nothing deeply profound to share…just a nudge to let you know that I’m still breathing.